Abilene Prairie Dogs still looking for mascot, announcer

Wanted: One enterprising individual to don a furry, full body costume and entertain baseball fans.

On Tuesday, the Abilene Prairie Dogs minor-league baseball team took their first steps toward identifying that special person who will portray their mascot, as well as searching for a public address announcer and an on-field emcee.

The resulting job fair wasn't exactly a home run — only one young woman showed up during the first half-hour of the event.

Members of the Prairie Dog management team were disappointed but undeterred, saying that they already have a few candidates in mind for the announcer job.

Prairie Dogs general manager Chet Carey said that just as much as the on-field roster, these three positions are crucial to creating a welcoming atmosphere for fans.

"We're not only trying to sell baseball," Carey said. "If the team is winning, that's great, if they're competitive, that's great. But it's all about people, when they leave the ballpark, they leave with a giveaway item, or they caught a foul ball, or they got an autograph from a player. We want people to say that this is a cost-effective way to entertain their family and they can't wait to come back out."

Central to that goal will be Grounder, the team's mascot. The outfit hasn't arrived yet, but Carey describes it as an oversized furry prairie dog in a baseball jersey.

The Prairie Dogs management team has been contending with a shortened time frame for getting the team up and running before its home debut against the San Angelo Colts on May 28. That's only about four months after news broke that the Prairie Dogs were returning to Abilene as part of the North American Baseball League.

In that time span, the team has had to settle into its new home at McMurry University's Walt Driggers Field, assemble a roster, put together promotional packages and otherwise reintroduce itself to the Abilene community more than a decade after the original Prairie Dogs franchise left town.

"What interests me is that there will be this phenomenon of parents coming out to games that saw the Prairie Dogs as kids," team minority owner Scott Kirk said. "There will be a second generation of Prairie Dogs fans."

For anyone out there who thinks he or she can make the grade as entertainer in chief for those crowds, the team still is looking to fill its mascot slot and various other positions on the game day staff. Interested candidates can call the Prairie Dogs at 325-437-6555.